Showcasing the Future of Fashion

Retail Branding and Information Solutions

August 3, 2017

Avery Dennison, SOREL, and SXSW team up to deliver a fashion-forward experience

When you blend innovative apparel and footwear solutions with a little creativity, exciting things are bound to happen. That was the premise behind The Future of Fashion, featuring SXSW, event hosted by Avery Dennison RBIS and SOREL.

“With last year’s introduction of Janela™ powered by EVRYTHNG, a new solution aimed to connect apparel and footwear products and drive unique customer experiences, we expanded our reach to new stakeholders,” said Julie Vargas, director, Digital Solutions, RBIS. “Our activation with SOREL and SXSW was designed to continue on that path and drive the convergence of fashion, tech and customization — all while bringing together the industry’s best and brightest.”

And that it did. On July 20, fashion and technology thought leaders gathered to celebrate the future of fashion at the RBIS Customer Design and Innovation Center (CDIC) in downtown Los Angeles. At the event, brands, retailers, and influencers gained insights about how SXSW curates partnerships and approaches programming to drive fashion forward. Attendees also had an opportunity to preview SOREL’s Fall/Winter 2017 footwear collection and explore RBIS’ full footwear solution offering, including woven innovation and RFID shoebox labels integrated with Janela.™

The portion of the event that really had the crowd buzzing, however, was the customization lounge. Each attendee received a pair of SORELs, which they personalized using Avery Dennison’s cutting-edge customization tools.

"As we evolve our brand from winter men’s utility to a year-round women’s fashion focus collection, it’s important for us to show up at unexpected events, like SXSW, to launch our product,” shared Sasha Wallinger, head of Global Brand Marketing and Communications at SOREL. “Working with Avery Dennison to customize our footwear brings the potential of personalization to life for our brand.”

Personalization has great possibility, as attendees experienced, using Avery Dennison’s Agility® Heat Transfer and Woven Soft Seals solutions to embellish apparel and footwear in truly creative ways. Footwear is an emerging space for Avery Dennison, Rana Sidahmed, global creative director, Trends and Insights, RBIS, explained: “Our aim was to lean forward with SOREL to debut our footwear solutions and create a memorable customization experience. Through our collaboration and the SXSW network, we can keep exploring the future of personalization.”

As fashion and technology continue to merge, partnerships with groups like SXSW will become increasingly important. SXSW, which aims to help creative people achieve their goals, can serve as a valuable conduit for sharing information and sparking new ideas. Companies like Avery Dennison and SOREL are taking advantage and bringing together key players across industries to imagine what’s possible. Creating customized, one-of-a-kind fashion is only the start.

“Working with Avery Dennison to customize our footwear brings the potential of personalization to life for our brand.”

Shoes set to be customized with select badges.

To learn more about our creative and tech solutions, contact an expert or visit a Customer Design and Innovation Center.